Follow-Up of Sarasota County Area Transit (SCAT) Bus Pass Inventory and Revenue, December 2017

13 | A u d i t o f S C A T B u s P a s s I n v e n t o r y a n d R e v e n u e S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 6 6. Processing bus pass sales Observation Accounting Policies and Procedures, Section 9.2 Business Center Receipt, Balance, and Deposit of Cash, state that, “No person shall perform all three functions (receive, deposit, and prepare Receipt for Deposit of County Funds ).” There is only one individual at the SCAT Downtown Transfer Station and this person is performing all three functions. This individual sells bus passes, records the sales on the revenue log, prepares the deposit, and prepares the Receipt for Deposit of County Funds . No mitigating controls were identified during our review to reduce the risk of inappropriate activity occurring. Recommendation To ensure compliance with Accounting Policies and Procedures and safeguarding County of assets, processes should be modified so that one individual is not responsible for all three functions. If that is not feasible and an exception is granted to the policy, mitigating controls should be developed and implemented. Management Response It is not feasible to separate these functions without hiring additional full time staff as dual control; therefore the Customer Service Manager will contact Clerk’s office to request an exception. The expected implementation date is November 1, 2016. Additionally, the following mitigating control is in place to address this concern:  Random audits are conducted monthly by SCAT Customer Service Manager consisting of the following: o Verifying the balance of money in both the drawer and safe, o Checking daily deposit logs and matching them to the receipts, and o Verifying the Ticket inventory matches what has been sold.